Daily Business Report: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Medicare Part B Costs to Jump 10 Percent in 2026
By Rob Sabo | The Epoch Times
Retirees who rely on Medicare Part B for the majority of their medical needs will see a nearly 10 percent increase in monthly premium amounts for 2026.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Medicare Part A and Part B premiums, deductibles, and co-insurance amounts for next year on Nov. 14, and Part B deductibles jumped to $202.90 per month. That increase is in addition to a spike in annual deductibles for Medicare Part B beneficiaries—usually paid in full before Medicare benefits kick in—to $283, up $26 from the annual deductible set in 2025.
CMS said the increase to Part B’s standard premium and monthly deductible is attributable to higher costs and an expected uptick in utilization of medical services. Premiums would have been $11 higher had the Trump administration not enacted changes in the physician fee schedule for skin substitute treatments, CMS noted.
Gavin Newsom preens in Brazil — while California drowns at home
By Joel Pollak | New York Post
Gov. Gavin Newsom is prancing around abroad while Californians suffer through a natural disaster — and not for the first time.
The well-coiffed presidential hopeful has a habit of being out of the state during major storms.
In 2023, he left during a deadly blizzard for a vacation in Mexico. While residents of California’s high country were trapped in their homes, Newsom was sunning himself on a beach in Baja on a “personal trip” he wouldn’t cancel.
Anthropic Says Chinese Hackers Used AI to Attack 30 Organizations
By Rob Sabo | The Epoch Times
Researchers at artificial intelligence company Anthropic said on Nov. 13 that they have uncovered the first use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a cyberattack by a foreign government.
Anthropic, the San Francisco-based developer of AI chatbot Claude, stated in a blog post that it was highly confident that state-sponsored Chinese threat actors had used the company’s Claude Code tool to create an attack framework that, once put in play, required minimal human involvement.
Attackers manipulated Anthropic’s AI software to attack 30 global targets, including government agencies, technology and financial services companies, and chemical manufacturers, Anthropic said in a post on X. A small number of attacks were successful.
